While cones might be the traditional choice — many people still refer to ice cream as “ice cream cones” out of habit alone — there are several advantages to choosing to serve your ice cream in cups instead.

Cups Make Promoting Your Brand Easy

Inexpensive and convenient, ice cream cups can be personalized with your own branding to put your brand identity front and center whenever anyone orders an ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato or other product from your shop.

This means that not only is every ice cream you sell a source of revenue for your business — it’s also a promotional tool that you can use to increase brand awareness, generate new customers and make more sales.

Because your customers will walk around the local area while carrying their ice cream cups, it’s easy for your cup design to attract the attention of tens or hundreds of people based on nothing more than a single purchase.

This attention translates into visibility for your brand, which in turn can lead to an increase in foot traffic for your ice cream shop, sales for your prepackaged ice cream brand and overall visibility and brand awareness for your business.

Cups Are Cheap and Simple

Wholesale ice cream cups are very inexpensive, making them a great option if you’re aiming to keep your ice cream business’s costs as low as possible.

When you buy ice cream cups in the thousands, the cost per unit becomes extremely low. This makes it easy to serve your ice cream products at competitive prices, helping you compete with other ice cream brands on both price and quality.

Because ice cream cups stack easily, they’re also cheap and convenient to store. Want to save even more money per serving? If you’re just getting started and want to keep costs low, using a range of unbranded ice cream cups can help you cut even more off of your cost per serving.

Unlike Cones, Cups Don’t Perish

One of the biggest disadvantages of ice cream cones is that they’re perishable goods, meaning they can go bad over time if they aren’t used quickly. This means you need to constantly order and use new cones in order to reduce wasted inventory (which, in turn, wastes money).

Wholesale ice cream cups, on the other hand, are easy to buy in bulk and store for months at a time, simplifying inventory management for your ice cream business and allowing you to focus on running your business instead of constantly ordering new supplies.

Beyond the convenience factor of non-perishable supplies, cups are also cheaper to store than cones. Add in the fact that you’ll rarely, if ever, have to dispose of damaged or old cups and it’s easy to see how cups offer a variety of significant advantages for your ice cream business.

Looking for an affordable, highly effective way to advertise your ice cream business? Rather than conventional advertising, the best way to get the word out could be through eye-catching ice cream cups.

Marketing through customized ice cream cups, or “paper cup advertising,” as it’s known, is a cheap, simple and highly effective way to promote your business. By turning every customer into a walking, talking advertisement, you can attract new customers at a minimal cost.

From Starbucks to McDonald’s, a surprising number of businesses have grown through smart equivalents to paper cup marketing. Below, we’ve shared three reasons why smart paper cup tactics work, as well as how you can use them to grow your ice cream business.

It’s Built on Classic Advertising Principles

The key to promoting any business, be it ice cream or a highly specific consultancy, is making sure you’re as visible as possible. Visibility is what gets your message out there, helping you to connect with the people that are most likely to become your customers.

Small, easy to carry and hugely mobile, paper ice cream cups are the perfect mobile billboard, helping you to advertise your business and maximize your visibility level on a level that other advertising methods can’t match.

In short, they follow all of the classic advertising principles you need for successful marketing, from visibility to mobility to social proof. Combined, these principles make paper cups far more than what most business owners expect — a powerful tool for marketing your ice cream brand.

It’s Highly Effective and Inexpensive

Buy ice cream cups wholesale and you’ll spend a tiny amount on each individual cup, letting your business gain a valuable promotional asset at a cost that’s barely more than you’d pay for generic cups.

This combination of effectiveness and affordability make ice cream cups ideal as a low-cost yet high-ROI marketing tool. It also puts them within the financial reach of businesses that may not be able to afford conventional advertising channels such as TV or radio.

Cost is a major factor in the advertising choices made by small businesses. Since paper cups are famously cheap to produce, they’re great for small ice cream businesses looking to gain a powerful promotional tool at a manageable cost.

It Scales Flawlessly as Your Business Grows

Perhaps the best element of paper cup marketing is that it scales extremely well as your ice cream business grows.

Need to increase your reach in a specific area? After you’ve opened a new location, equip it with all of the paper cups you need and build brand awareness passively as you serve new customers.

As businesses grow, it’s far from uncommon for conventional marketing tactics to become less effective. Paper cup marketing, on the other hand, is the ideal tactic for scaling your marketing efforts at the same pace as your ice cream business.

Aiming to design the perfect ice cream cup? From attracting attention to helping your products stand out from the competition, an effective ice cream cup design can have a range of benefits for your business.

Like all things design related, there are subjective elements to ice cream cup design. However, there are also objective, simple rules that you can follow, whether you’re designing an ice cream cup with lid or a plan, single-serving ice cream cup for use in your shop.

Below, we’ve listed three simple but effective tips that you can use to improve your ice cream cup design and make a bigger impact, whether you’re hiring a professional to design your ice cream cups or taking care of the entire process in-house.

1.Choose a Color Scheme That Matches Your Ice Cream

Here’s a simple way to make your ice cream cups look more appealing to potential customers — pick a color scheme that, instead of being generic across your entire range of ice cream flavors, matches the specific flavor of ice cream you’re selling.

Flavor-specific ice cream cup color schemes — for example, pink for strawberry and brown for chocolate — can help your ice cream products stand out from the crowd, all while producing a more appealing aesthetic for potential customers.

While this strategy does incur some additional costs — you’ll need to order a larger variety of cups, for example, than you would with a single cup design — it’s a great way to ensure your packaging stands out from the crowd and results in a more appealing product.

2.Focus on Readability For Essential Information

One of the most common design mistakes, whether for carrying bags or ice cream cups with lids, is trying to squeeze too much information into an overly small space. Ice cream cups are compact, meaning it’s best to focus on essential information rather than every detail about your product.

When you’re designing your ice cream cups, focus on readability. Choose a large typeface for any essential information, such as your brand name and the specific flavor, with smaller text to express minor details.

Then, before you finalize your design, take an editor’s approach to the cup design and cut out any information that isn’t essential to produce a simpler and more appealing design that your target audience will find easy to read.

3.Keep Your Branding Simple, Visible and Consistent

Finally, it’s important to keep your overall brand image in mind when you’re designing ice cream cups for your business. This means maintaining a consistent typeface, visual style, wording, and other details, even if you opt for a different color scheme for every flavor.

Consistency helps consumers identify with your brand, making them more likely to remember it in the future. It also helps your brand stand out from the competition, as consistent design tends to “pop” visually and stand out to people familiar with it.

In short, keep your branding simple, visible and consistent. There’s no prize for having the most complicated ice cream cup design. However, there are significant, measurable financial benefits to opting for a simple, easily visible and consistent brand image.

Do you want your ice cream products to stand out on Instagram? You’re not alone. A growing number of food service and hospitality businesses are using Instagram to market their dishes and food products, often with impressive results.

According to the Q3 2016 Sprout Social Index, 75% of people purchase a product specifically because they saw it on social media. As an image-based social network, Instagram is usually the main source of eye-catching, inspiring new products for consumers.

In short, standing out on Instagram can be a major advantage for any business. Packaging is often at the center of this — create eye-catching, effective packaging and you’ll find it easier to attract attention on any social platform, Instagram included.

Below, we’ve shared three simple but effective tactics that you can use to make eye-catching, effective and Instagram-worthy packaging for your ice cream products, helping you to attract more attention, build a stronger brand and motivate new customers to try your products.

Choose an Eye-Catching Color Scheme

One of the biggest advantages of custom ice cream packaging is that it gives you full control over the color of your packaging — a factor that can be hugely influential in attracting attention and helping your product stand out from the crowd.

Most ice cream has simple packaging, with colors like cream and light blue popular. While this can look great on store shelves, it’s often far from ideal for the fast-paced environment of social networks like Instagram.

From bright pink to green, purple and orange, choosing eye-catching, high contrast colors can help your products immediately capture the attention of Instagram users, netting you a greater amount of attention and a more effective presence on social media.

Keep it Big, Bold and Simple

Have you ever watched someone use Instagram? Rather than moving through their feed at a steady pace, Instagram users tend to scroll quickly, only ever stopping if something specifically catches their attention.

Because of this, simplicity is almost always the most effective packaging strategy. Make your packaging too complex and — even if stylish and unique — there’s a serious risk of Instagram, Facebook, and other social network users simply scrolling past it.

Instead, keep it simple. Choose a large, bold and easy-to-read typeface for your product and brand names, then back it up with packaging that anyone can quickly scan and understand in just a few seconds.

Invest in High-Quality Photographs

Contrary to popular belief, your smartphone camera probably isn’t enough to build an effective, professional presence on Instagram. Instead, it’s far better to invest in high-quality photography, either using your own DSLR camera or by a hired photographer.

Although Instagram limits the resolution of the photos you share, important factors such as the depth of field, exposure and framing can all impact the way customers perceive your ice cream products, making professional photographs the way to go for Instagram.

From composition to lighting, a professional photographer will know exactly how to frame your custom ice cream packaging for maximum impact, allowing you to get a stronger reaction when you post and share your content on Instagram.

Looking to promote your ice cream business on a budget? From social media to branded ice cream containers, there are a variety of ways to let people know about your ice cream shop, premade ice cream brand or other ice cream products, all without spending a fortune.

Marketing is the key to any business, and ice cream is no exception. Below, we’ve listed four simple, inexpensive and effective tactics that you can use to market your ice cream business without overspending, helping you to attract new customers and generate more revenue.

1.Switch From Generic to Branded Ice Cream Containers

When you sell ice cream to a customer, how do passersby know it’s from your shop? Branded ice cream containers let you transform any transaction into a marketing activity by letting every passerby know about your ice cream.

From your color scheme to your marketing message, a branded ice cream container makes it easy to present your brand for free, turning all of your customers into walking advertisements that generate attention, strengthen your brand and attract new customers.

2.Promote Your Business Using Social Media

Want to attract attention? Ice cream, frozen yogurt and other desserts go hand in hand with social media attention, making platforms like Facebook and Instagram ideal tools for reaching your target audience.

One easy way to draw new customers into your ice cream store is to offer promotions to local Facebook groups. From buy-one-get-one-free deals with discounts for first-time customers, offer local Facebook users a great deal and you’ll quickly discover new customers.

3.Reach Out to Local Distribution Options

Want to sell more of your ice cream? If you offer prepackaged ice cream, try reaching out to any local grocery stores, convenience stores, cafés and other potential distributors that sell similar products.

Local businesses can be valuable partners for helping you sell your ice cream. If your ice cream is a desirable item, you can also strengthen their business at the same time, creating a win-win marketing situation.

From revenue sharing deals to renting space inside their refrigerator, there are a variety of ways to plan a good distribution partnership deal, all of which can help you market your ice cream and make more sales at a minimal cost.

4.Team Up With Influencers in Your Industry

Don’t want to build up your own Facebook or Instagram page from scratch? One of the easiest ways to increase your audience and rapidly build a social media presence for your brand is by partnering with influencers in your industry.

From food bloggers to local celebrities, try reaching out to popular people and brands on social media to promote your ice cream together. For a small fee, bloggers, Instagrammers, and other influencers will usually be happy to promote and show off your ice cream and other products.

Not only can influencer promotions help you sell ice cream in the short term — in the long term, they can also play a major role in helping you strengthen your brand and build an audience of loyal customers.

Searching for the right ice cream supplies for your business? From size to printed graphics, the cups you choose for your takeout and prepackaged ice cream can have a significant impact on your customer satisfaction, branding and business as a whole.

Ice cream cups come in a wide range of designs and sizes, from small 3.5 ounce containers to large 14 ounces, 16 ounce and 32-ounce options. Choosing the right ice cream containers can help you offer the right options to your customers, all while enhancing your branding.

Ready to get started? Below, we’ve provided three easy but effective steps to help you choose the right ice cream containers for your ice cream shop, restaurant or premade ice cream brand.

Calculate Your Size Requirements

How big is your average serving of ice cream? One of the most important factors to consider while you’re comparing ice cream containers and cups is the average serving size your store offers for customers.

Most ice cream shops offer a range of sizes, starting from a single scoop of ice cream all the way up to large, prepackaged ice cream containers. Generally, you’ll want to consider three different sizes to offer the optimal level of choice for your customers.

Generally, a 3.5-ounce container is a good option for your smallest serving size, with five and eight ounce containers great for mid-sized and large servings. If you sell premade ice cream, you’ll also want to add some larger 12, 16 and 32-ounce containers for takeout purchases.

While it’s good to offer choices for your customers, it’s also important to limit them. Generally, you’ll want to stick to a maximum of three different ice cream container sizes to help reduce purchase friction for your customers and keep your menu straightforward and simple.

Choose Between Branded or Generic

Ice cream containers, cups and other supplies are available as generic products or with custom branding. Each of these options has advantages — generic supplies are cheaper and available immediately, while custom branded containers are eye-catching and ideal for brand marketing.

Most of the time, the best bet is to invest in custom branded ice cream containers and cups to market your business and strengthen your brand. However, these products often come with a lead time, meaning you might need to wait several weeks before your order is ready.

As an alternative, generic ice cream cups and containers fitted with custom stickers can help you market your brand and promote your business, all while waiting for your custom supplies.

Lots of Takeout Orders? Offer Matching Lids

While most of your customers will want to enjoy their ice cream immediately, others might want to take it home to enjoy later. Because of this, it’s always best to offer matching lids for your ice cream containers.

Ice cream container lids come in several varieties, the most common of which are plastic dome lids and flat lids. If you offer sundaes, shakes and blended ice creams, you’ll want to make sure you have a range of plastic dome lids (as well as matching spoons) available.

For plain scooped ice cream, it’s also worth investing in flat lids, which can be used for takeout orders as well as pre-made, prepackaged ice cream products.

Thinking of starting an ice cream business? From gelato to frozen yogurt, ice cream stores and sit-down restaurants can be massively successful, provided you’re willing to give your business, it’s marketing, and your products the attention and focus they deserve.

The average American consumes approximately 48 pints of ice cream every year, making ice cream one of the country’s favorite treats. Like coffee, the ice cream industry is a competitive one, making it a tough but potentially rewarding industry to enter.

From your store’s location to your branding efforts, the right approach to starting an ice cream business can pay dividends over the long term. Below, we’ve shared four vital pieces of advice to keep in mind as you start and grow your ice cream business.

1.Research Locations Before You Begin

Ice cream is an impulse purchase for most consumers, making it important for you to choose a location that receives plenty of foot traffic.

There’s a reason most ice cream stores are located in and around shopping malls, commercial streets, and other retail areas. These areas tend to attract the most foot traffic, resulting in high numbers of drop-in customers.

From visibility to the total number of passersby, study any location in detail before you commit to it. A good location can be the difference between success and failure, particularly if your store is dependent on local residents, shoppers and visitors for success.

2.Take Your Business Supplies Seriously

Ice cream business supplies, such as cups, napkins and carry bags, can play a major role in the marketing aspect of growing your ice cream business.

While many ice cream businesses stick with generic ice cream business supplies (such as plain white or brown paper cups, bags and containers), one of the best ways to get more exposure for your business is to invest in customized, branded supplies.

From cups to carry bags, aim to add your ice cream store’s brand to every possible supply. Over the long term, it can make a significant difference to your store’s visibility, brand recognition and profitability.

3.Focus on Quality Rather Than Price

With McDonald’s and other fast food chains offering their own cheap ice cream products, it can be tough to turn a profit aiming for the lower end of the ice cream market. Because of this, you’ll generally get better results with a range of mid-priced or gourmet ice cream offerings.

From homemade ice cream to all-natural, chemical-free products, aim to differentiate your ice cream brand by offering the best products in your area, rather than simply competing with the lowest prices.

Make Sure You Get The Word Out

Ice cream businesses grow through two key mediums: foot traffic, which is largely dependent on your location, and word of mouth. If your ice cream, experience or brand is one of the best in the area, you’ll have few problems attracting the second.

However, as a new ice cream business, it’s important to seed word of mouth and generate some initial buzz for your business. From local Facebook groups to TV and radio ads, use a variety of mediums to get the word out about your store and bring in your first few paying customers.